building relationships with visitors
DESCRIPTION
Speaker: Led by Penny Mills, Director of Client Services, Audiences London - So you’ve got them hooked - now how do you keep relationships with visitors going? Join us to discover how cultural organisations have deepened relationships with a wide range of visitors, through ambassador programmes, membership schemes,events, interpretation and more.TRANSCRIPT
Building Relationships with VisitorsPenny Mills Audiences London
Museums & Heritage Show 2011
© Audiences London 2011
So, you don’t want to lose them…
Do you know your visitors? Did they have a good time? Are they worth getting back? What do you expect from the relationship? What benefits can you offer? Have you got time?
© Audiences London 2011
Getting to know your visitors
Regular visitor monitoring surveys Primary research focused on particular questions Comments cards/books/walls Suggestion boxes Conversations within social media Conversations in person
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How close are your visitors to you?
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LoyalRegularsFrequent
Been once or twice…Local
Families
Student Ambassadors
DiverseCommunities
What will work for your organisation?
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Organisational resources
Dep
th o
f relation
ship
E/Mailing list
Social networking/ interactivity
Shadow board
Community Engagement
Ambassadors
Advocates
Testers
Mystery shopping
Volunteers
Programming/Curation/ Events
Members, patronsfriends
Using your insights…1
Music to Remember campaign with Time Out
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Using your Insights…2
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Using your insights…2
www.tastetheatre.com
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Family Advocates
Café Gallery Projects – CGP London Strong family events programme Good list of family contacts Connected with other local projects involving families Moving from ‘providing’ to co-planning
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Engaging communities…working with… Poetry Translation Centre Translated work of Somali poets and co-hosted reading
of work at Bluecoat Arts Centre, Liverpool. Discussion groups held with Somali teenage boys and
those involved with Liverpool Reads. Recruited them as ambassadors. 50% of audience were from the Somali community. Created a relationship between Bluecoat and Somali
community which is ongoing with ambassadors working front of house.
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Student ambassadors at the LSO - Pulse
Seven Reasons to become a Pulse Ambassador1. You need to buy pasta…On average, each student ticket saves a 46%
2. Save on the price, not the experience.. free drink and programme and we try and make sure you’re next to your friends.
3. Open closed doors. Opportunities to meet the artists, watch the LSO rehearse, backstage tours
4. Keep your finger on the pulse. A unique online experience that allows you to shape the events, ideas and initiatives of pulse
5. We don't think a free pen is enough. A range of exclusive rewards such as LSO Live CDs, Barbican vouchers and concert tickets for our ambassadors
6. Keep your eye on the prize. Earn experiences of a lifetime, like meeting some of the biggest names in music, or joining the LSO in Paris...
7. And, finally, with the other eye on the future... An unparalleled experience for your CV that employers will value highly
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Membership schemes
Membership schemes are diverse Who joins these schemes? Members’ motivations
– Material– Hedonic– Aesthetic– Achievement orientated– Social– Altruistic – Self identification– Status– Ideological commitment
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Maintaining relationships
Need a changing product that retains interest and an attractive membership package
Communicate regularly and appropriately with your members– Segment your membership base– Personalise your communications– Be clear about what you want from members– Give them insights into what you do and how you use donations– Ask them to volunteer, upgrade membership and pay by direct
debit– Talk to your members
Find out why people lapse
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Roundhouse Membership Levels
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BECOME A FAN MEMBER £40 Priority booking/advance notice when available No online booking fees on 10 tickets per year What’s On brochures posted to you Exclusive news updates by email Four vouchers for 10% discount on a two-course meal for one at Made In Camden
BECOME A HEADLINER MEMBER £150 Plus…Free Members’ Bar access for you and a guestFree Members’ Cloakroom use for you and a guestQuarterly supporters’ news update Access to members’ area on the Roundhouse website Six vouchers for 10% discount on a two-course meal for one at Made In Camden
BECOME A LEGEND MEMBER £1500
Families as Testers: Osterley Park and House (National Trust London Voices) Road testing of prototype versions of final interpretation:
– Testing a prototype of the Osterley Compass to check the compass was easy to understand and use.
– Trying out an interactive puppet booth at Osterley to discover how families connected this imaginative experience with their visit to the historic rooms.
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The tester role works well with families you have a longer term relationship with a place and one off family visitors. People feel incredibly valued to be asked to try things out for you and generally jump at the opportunity!
Top tips
Keep it strategic– integrated into your core mission and activities
Resource activity appropriately Measure the return on investment Be realistic Keep it simple for your visitors Make it a dialogue
(c) Audiences London 2011
Resources
Membership Management Forumwww.membershipmanagementforum.org
British Association of Friends of Museumswww.bafm.org.uk
Audiences London’s resources www.audienceslondon.org
A practical guide to working with arts ambassadors available at www.artscouncil.org.uk
www.londonvoicesproject.org.uk
(c) Audiences London 2011
